Comparisons in Hawaiian

In Brief

Hawaiian does not change an adjective into a special comparative form like English bigger or better. To say that one thing has more of a quality, use ʻoi aku or ʻoi aʻe with ma mua o: ʻOi aku ka nui o kēia ma mua o kēlā means “This is bigger than that.” Use like ... me ... for equality and loa to strengthen a quality or, in the right context, express a superlative.

Overview

Comparison in Hawaiian is called hoʻohālike. It lets you say that people or things are equal, different, or higher in some quality. This is commonly introduced around B1 because it combines several ideas you already know: a predicate (the part that says what something is like), stative verbs such as nani “beautiful” and nui “big,” and prepositional phrases.

English often builds comparison into an adjective: tall → taller → tallest. Hawaiian normally leaves the descriptive word unchanged. Instead, separate words show the relationship. ʻOi aku/ʻoi aʻe presents one degree as greater, ma mua o introduces the standard being compared with, like me expresses likeness or equality, and loa adds the idea “very,” “extremely,” or—when the group and context make it clear—“most.”

This difference is important for English-speaking learners. Do not search for Hawaiian equivalents of the English endings -er and -est. Build the comparison as a Hawaiian sentence, keeping the descriptive word in its ordinary form.

How It Works

Comparing a greater degree: ʻoi aku or ʻoi aʻe

A common pattern is:

ʻOi aku/ʻoi aʻe + quality + subject + ma mua o + standard

The quality is the feature being measured, such as nui “large,” nani “beautiful,” wikiwiki “fast,” or maikaʻi “good.” The subject is what you are describing. The standard is the person or thing you measure it against.

Part	Hawaiian	Function
Greater degree	ʻOi aku / ʻoi aʻe	more, to a greater degree
Quality	ka nui	the size / bigness
Subject link	o kēia	of this one
Standard	ma mua o kēlā	than that one

Put together: ʻOi aku ka nui o kēia ma mua o kēlā. “This is bigger than that.” Literally, the sentence presents “the size of this” as greater in comparison with that.

You will see both aku and aʻe after ʻoi. These are directional particles—small words that add a direction or viewpoint to an action or quality—but in comparison constructions both can signal a greater degree. Learn ʻoi aku ... ma mua o ... as a dependable complete frame, while recognizing ʻoi aʻe as a common alternative.

The exact shape of the middle part can vary. With a quality treated directly as a predicate, the compared subject may follow it:

• ʻOi aku ka nani o kēia pua ma mua o kēlā pua. — “This flower is more beautiful than that flower.”
• ʻOi aku ka wikiwiki o Kaleo ma mua o kona kaikaina. — “Kaleo is faster than his younger sibling.”

The word o often links the quality noun phrase to what possesses that quality: ka nani o ka pua, “the beauty of the flower.” This is why a natural Hawaiian comparison may look less like the English adjective pattern and more like “the beauty of X is greater than Y.”

Understanding ma mua o

In comparisons, ma mua o functions like English than. Do not translate each word separately while building the sentence; treat the whole sequence as the marker that introduces the standard of comparison.

ma mua o + noun or pronoun

• ma mua o kēlā hale — than that house
• ma mua oʻu — than me
• ma mua ou — than you

Hawaiian pronouns after prepositions can take special forms, so it is safer to learn short comparison chunks such as ma mua oʻu rather than inserting the independent pronoun au mechanically.

Equality and resemblance: like ... me ...

Use like when two people or things are alike, equal, or similar. The item compared with is commonly introduced by me “with, like.”

Like + subject + me + standard

• Like au me ʻoe. — “I am like you.”
• Like kēia hale me kēlā hale. — “This house is like that house.”

For “as ... as,” the quality can be made explicit:

Like ka + quality + o X me ko Y

For example, Like ka nui o kēia hale me ko kēlā hale conveys that this house and that house have the same size. In careful learning, start with simple like X me Y sentences before building these longer quality phrases.

A closely related expression is e like me, meaning “like,” “as,” or “in the same way as.” It commonly introduces a model or manner rather than making a complete equality statement:

• E hana e like me ke kumu. — “Work as the teacher does / according to the teacher’s example.”

Compare the jobs of the two forms:

Pattern	Main use	Approximate English meaning
Like X me Y	states equality or similarity	X is like Y
e like me Y	introduces a model or manner	like Y; as Y does

Inequality: ʻaʻole like

To say that two things are not alike, place ʻaʻole before like:

ʻAʻole like + subject + me + standard

• ʻAʻole like kēia me kēlā. — “This is not like that.”
• ʻAʻole like ko lāua manaʻo. — “Their opinions are not the same.”

This pattern says only that things differ. It does not say which one is better, bigger, or faster. Use an ʻoi aku ... ma mua o ... construction when direction matters.

Strongest degree and superlative meaning: loa

Loa follows a descriptive word and intensifies it:

• nani loa — very beautiful, extremely beautiful
• nui loa — very big
• maikaʻi loa — very good, excellent

Because Hawaiian does not have an -est ending, loa can contribute superlative meaning when the context identifies a group or a unique highest member. The concept’s core pattern is:

ʻO X ka mea + quality + loa.

• ʻO ia ka mea nani loa. — “He/She is the most beautiful one.”

Here ka mea means “the one” or “the person/thing,” and context supplies the comparison set. Without such a set, nani loa may simply mean “very beautiful,” not necessarily “the most beautiful.” For an explicit “more than all” meaning, a speaker can state the wider comparison rather than relying on loa alone.

Examples in Context

Hawaiian	English	Note
ʻOi aku ka nui o kēia hale ma mua o kēlā hale.	This house is bigger than that house.	Greater degree with ʻoi aku
ʻOi aʻe ka nui o kēia ma mua o kēlā.	This is bigger than that.	ʻOi aʻe variant
ʻOi aku ka nani o kēia pua ma mua o kēlā.	This flower is more beautiful than that one.	The quality is nani
ʻOi aku ka wikiwiki o Kaleo ma mua o kona hoa.	Kaleo is faster than his friend.	Comparison of speed
ʻOi aku ka maikaʻi o kēia manaʻo ma mua o kēlā manaʻo.	This idea is better than that idea.	“Better” is expressed as a greater degree of maikaʻi
Like au me ʻoe.	I am like you.	Basic equality or resemblance
Like kēia puke me kēlā puke.	This book is like that book.	Similarity between things
Like ka nui o kēia hale me ko kēlā hale.	This house is the same size as that house.	Equality in one named quality
ʻAʻole like kēia me kēlā.	This is not like that.	Difference without ranking
ʻAʻole like nā waihoʻoluʻu o nā pālule ʻelua.	The colors of the two shirts are not the same.	A specific point of difference
E kākau e like me kēia laʻana.	Write like this example.	E like me introduces a model
Nani loa kēia wahi.	This place is very beautiful.	Intensifier; not necessarily superlative
ʻO ia ka mea nani loa.	He/She is the most beautiful.	Superlative reading from ka mea ... loa
ʻO kēia ka hale nui loa.	This is the biggest house.	Context identifies the highest member

Common Mistakes

Adding an English-style comparative ending

• Wrong: nui-er kēia hale
• Right: ʻOi aku ka nui o kēia hale ma mua o kēlā hale.
• Why: Hawaiian does not add English -er or another inflection to nui. Separate comparison words carry the meaning.

Leaving out the standard marker

• Incomplete for the intended meaning: ʻOi aku ka nui o kēia kēlā.
• Right: ʻOi aku ka nui o kēia ma mua o kēlā.
• Why: Ma mua o introduces the thing used as the standard: “than that.”

Using me after ʻoi aku

• Wrong: ʻOi aku ka nani o kēia me kēlā.
• Right: ʻOi aku ka nani o kēia ma mua o kēlā.
• Why: Me belongs naturally with like for equality. A greater-degree comparison normally uses ma mua o.

Treating loa as an automatic “most” marker

• Misleading without context: Nani loa ka pua. = “The flower is the most beautiful.”
• Right: Nani loa ka pua. = “The flower is very beautiful.”
• Why: Loa is first of all an intensifier. It receives a superlative interpretation when a structure such as ka mea ... loa or the surrounding context identifies the highest member of a group.

Mixing up like and e like me

• Awkward for a simple equality statement: E like au me ʻoe.
• Right: Like au me ʻoe.
• Why: Use predicate like to state that two participants are alike. Use e like me mainly to introduce a model, manner, or correspondence: “like/as ...”

Ignoring spelling marks

• Wrong: Oi aku ka maikai...
• Right: ʻOi aku ka maikaʻi...
• Why: The ʻokina and kahakō are letters or meaningful spelling marks, not decoration. Write ʻoi and maikaʻi accurately.

Usage Notes

Hawaiian often compares a named quality—literally something like “the size of this” or “the beauty of that”—rather than reshaping a descriptive word. This makes phrases with ka + quality + o especially useful. Once you know ka nui o ..., ka nani o ..., and ka maikaʻi o ..., you can reuse the same frame with many subjects.

The particles aku and aʻe have broader directional uses elsewhere in Hawaiian. In comparison phrases, however, learners should resist assigning them a rigid English translation. Their contribution belongs to the complete expression ʻoi aku or ʻoi aʻe. Usage can vary with the speaker and the surrounding sentence.

English uses more both for degree (more beautiful) and quantity (more books). These are not always the same grammatical task in Hawaiian. This article focuses on comparing a quality. When counting or comparing amounts, Hawaiian number, plural, and quantity constructions may also be needed.

Word choice matters too. English better is irregular, but Hawaiian can express it regularly through maikaʻi: ʻoi aku ka maikaʻi ... “better.” Likewise, “smaller” can be understood as a greater degree of liʻiliʻi “small.” Hawaiian builds the intended scale from the quality word rather than from an irregular comparative dictionary form.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

A comparison does not have to be fully stated when conversation already supplies the missing standard. A speaker may use ʻoi aku with the second item understood, much as English allows “This one is better.” For learners, stating ma mua o + standard is still the clearest choice until the discourse makes the omission unmistakable.

Be careful when translating English superlatives. English marks the best grammatically even if the group is vague. Hawaiian can instead combine intensity, definiteness, and context. Ka mea maikaʻi loa may mean “the best one,” while maikaʻi loa on its own normally means “very good.” A precise translation therefore depends on whether the sentence identifies one member as highest or merely praises it strongly.

Comparisons can also evaluate actions and situations, not only physical objects. A clause or a nominalized idea—a phrase treated like a thing—may occupy either side of the comparison. Longer structures become easier if you first identify three pieces: the quality being measured, the subject that has it, and the standard introduced by ma mua o.

Finally, e like me extends far beyond simple comparison. It can mean “according to,” “in the manner of,” or “just as,” depending on context. In instructions, e like me kēia laʻana means “like/according to this example.” In connected discourse it can introduce an analogy. Recognizing this broader use prevents you from interpreting every e like me phrase as a claim that two things are completely equal.

Practice Tips

1. Build three-part comparisons. Choose two familiar objects and one quality, then say: ʻOi aku + quality + first item + ma mua o + second item. Change only one part at a time.
2. Practice the equality contrast. Make pairs such as Like kēia me kēlā and ʻAʻole like kēia me kēlā. Then add the exact quality: size, color, speed, or goodness.
3. Separate “very” from “most.” When you meet loa, ask whether the sentence names or implies a comparison group. Translate it as “very” unless the structure and context support “most.”

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Stative Verbs (Adjectives) — supplies descriptive predicates such as nui, nani, and maikaʻi, which form the core of quality comparisons.